Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

These I paired with Sangria, for 3rd Annual Cookies and Cocktails. The recipe came from Bloom Designs Online. I didn’t use the caramel glaze because lack of ingredients, I just used basic caramel sauce. The cookies have the consistency of a oatmeal rather than a crunchy cookie. Which bothered some people.

You need

• 2 3/4 quick cooking oats
• 1 1/4 flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 salt
• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 apples peeled and finely diced (fuji or granny smith work well)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together first six ingredients and set aside.  In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar.  Add egg, vanilla and milk.  Mix until combined. Add oats mixture and blend until just incorporated.  Mix in apples.  Drop by the tablespoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 11 minutes until lightly browned.  Let sit on cookie sheet until cooled.

For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and caramel sauce until smooth.  Add more milk if necessary.

Once cooled, drizzle caramel mix over cookies.

Caramel Apple Sangria

I used this recipe for 3rd Annual Cookies and Cocktails! Another great cookies and cocktails success!!   Thanks Food Family Finds I did not use Mirassou Wine and it came out just as good! They also paired perfectly with Caramel Apple Cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 750 mL bottle of Mirassou Moscato (I used any old Moscato I had)
• 3 cups apple cider
• 1 cup carbonated lemon-lime soda
• ⅓ cup caramel flavored vodka
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 sweet apples (any varieties), diced
• 1 pear (any variety), diced
• ½ cup green grapes, halved

Directions:

1. Add the apples, pear and grapes to a large pitcher.
2. Slowly poor in the Moscato, cider, vodka and cinnamon.
3. Gently stir.
4. Refrigerate for one hour.
5. Before serving, add the lemon-lime soda and stir gently.

Carmelitas

This is one of those pinned recipes I saved for when I needed a sweet treat. I made this for a coworker who was switching schools. Thanks to Averie Cooks! My only complaint about this recipe is it doesn’t make enough!

 

• 3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 stick; I use unsalted butter and wish I used salted)
• 3/ 4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-rolled old fashioned oats (not instant or quick cook)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt, optional and to taste
• 35 caramel squares, unwrapped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream ( I used whole milk its what I had)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste, if you prefer salted caramel sauce ( I dont)
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks ( I used chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lining your pan is highly recommended for ease of cleanup due to the stickiness of the caramel; set pan aside.
2. In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 90 seconds.
3. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, optional pinch salt, and stir until combined. Mixture will be quite thick.
5. Add half of the mixture to the prepared pan  and smooth it with spatula or the back of a spoon, to create an even, smooth, flat layer; set remainder aside.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine the caramels, cream, and heat on high power in 60-second bursts to melt caramels, stirring after each burst. It will likely take about 4 to 5 minutes total to melt; heat until mixture can be stirred smooth.
8. Optionally stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste, for salted caramel sauce; set sauce aside.
9. After 10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate.
10. Slowly and evenly pour caramel sauce over the chocolate.
11. Evenly crumble reserved oatmeal-brown sugar mixture over the top.
12. Return pan to oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes  or until edges are lightly browned and center is bubbling slightly.
13. Allow bars to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving, giving the molten caramel time to firm up. This can take up to 4 hours, or overnight, at room temperature. You can speed it up by placing pan in fridge with a sheet of foil over the top to prevent fridge smells. If you don’t wait for bars to cool completely, they’ll be a literal hot mess. They’ll taste fine (don’t burn yourself), but they won’t slice neatly with clean cuts. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Caramel Delights- A crowd pleasing cookie

So I wanted to make something different for my Cookie and Cocktails Party. I have been debating this cookie for a while now. It seemed like it had a lot of steps, but when actually making it, its painless. I got this recipe from Once Upon a Plate. They were so tasty and I LOVED EM!

Here’s the recipe-

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

up to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix all these ingredients together, and add the milk only if necessary. I didn’t use the milk :) The dough is a different dough, and very bread-like.

Roll out the dough and cut circles, the only circle cookie cutter I had was a large circle, I tried different things to cut out the middle, and the only one I found that worked well was the cap of a high lighter. hahaha. This dough can be fragile, but can be easily mended back together. Bake for 10- 12 minutes or until golden.

The recipe says to cover in chocolate after putting the coconut topping on, but I thought this was silly. So I dipped the bottoms in melted chocolate from Michaels. Heres a tip, melt the chocolate in a large LID! Rather than a bowl, this way its large and flat, and works perfect covering these cookies, you can dip both sides, but I dipped one side, let is set, and then rolled it in the chocolate to cover the sides and a little but if the tops that way if the coconut filling didn’t reach the end, you wouldn’t see the bare cookie. I DEFINITELY. recommend covering in chocolate before putting on the topping. I used one bag of chocolate melts and this was enough.

Topping:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12-ounces good-quality chewy caramels

Melt caramels in the microwave, for 3-4 minutes and stir in the coconut. I missed the part of the recipe where it said to TOAST the coconut, OOPS, but it came out still delish, so if you’d like to toast the coconut before, heres the deal:

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become golden.

I used a tablespoon for each cookie and spread with my finger and it got very messy.

After the coconut has set, pipe some chocolate and drizzle over the cookies for a last good looking look!

Worth all the extra steps for these cookies :)

THE TASTIEST Bar you could take to a party- Pick Up Bars- Ooiee Gooey Marshmallow Caramel

I got this Recipe from the Domestic Rebel

I had left over caramel sauce from my White Trash Cake . When this came up on my reader, I thought it would be the perfect way use up the rest of the carmel sauce so I didn’t have to watch my brother dip his entire apple and let it run down his chin anymore.

These bars WERE. SO. DELISH. Just the right kind of consistency, it tasted so wonderful. So Goo-ey melt in your mouth. I HIGHLY recommend these. These will be accompanying me to every party I attend that requires bringing food. I mean this one is REALLY up there.

I also had a very interesting day, these bars will always remind me of this day. It was rainy, so I decided to sit and read, and blog, but of course my day was taken over by blogging, then I decided I needed to go to Target, to pick supplies, to bake things, to blog, obviously. First of all I was food shopping in Target-even though I rarely do this because in Stop and Shop I know where everything is, they have everything I need, I use the easy shopper and get gas points. But I didn’t feel like making the two minute drive to stop and shop becuase I was already in Target. So while looking for my ingredients and cringing every time I looked at the price, I kept running into this STUPID COUPLE. They were standing in the baking aisle, basically making out. This means I couldn’t get to the cake mixes, or the chocolate chips, or anything I needed to make these bars, I stood there, waited, and I couldn’t TAKE IT ANYMORE. In between the disgusting kissing, the girl was like “what do you need to make cookies?”. I almost slapped her. She picked up a Cookie Mix. Then they were with me in the butter isle, geting a small butter, and then eggs, only picking six eggs. In my way in every aisle. Going home so they could “bake” cookies together. They DROVE ME NUTS, First of all PEOPLE. thats not baking, baking ur dumb cookie mix and thinking your so cute baking your little cookies together and being a couple. Who doesn’t already have eggs and butter?

On the drive home my car just stopped working. just stopped, in the middle of a road/ intersection happened to be on my street. My brother and my dad were both out of town which left me basically stranded. My uncle joe, who is my neighbor came to save me. Luckily there is still nice people in the world. Which is always a wonderful reminder and makes me want to help others when someone helps you! I was not stopped for one minute before a nice man pulled over and said he would really like to help me be pushed out of the street. He was young and cute. maybe my soul mate. probably not. Then another women stopped and asked if I needed help but my Uncle Joe was on his way, and he got there in like 2.2 seconds

Did I mention it was raining? So we decided the car was dead. He drove me home and I promptly baked these bars. Even though this whole thing really didn’t put me in a bad mood at all. I decided yesterday that I was going to sell my car before I went and worked on the cruise, and someone already wanted to buy it. So it was only fitting that it broke down. Now its the age old question- fix it, or scrap it. Who knows. But this dessert is seriously a great pick me up. So I am going to call them Pick up bars, they can pick up and funk you find yourself in. The bar made of cake mix was so awesome. So much better than a blondie brownie, they were nice and moist.

Heres the recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 bag miniature marshmallows- I only used half the bag
1 & 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
About 1/2 cup caramel sundae sauce

Very simple, Mix cake mix eggs butter sugar in a bowl. Place in 9×13 greased pan. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes, until golden brown and just starting to harden in the middle.

Take out and pour butterscotch chips and marshmallows over the whole thing and place back into the oven for five minutes or until marshmallows are puffy. I did this, and then put my broil on high and toasted the top of the marshmallows and I was so proud of the golden brown toast I got on them. Usually when toasting marshmallows, which is always the final step in any recipe, I burn them, and then all the hard work on the recipe before it is RUINED.

After its cooled Drizzle on the caramel sauce. DELISH. I can’t get enough. EVERYBODY needs to try before they die.

Success!

White Trash Cake

So ya’ll I made me some cake. My mom’s friend told me about this cake on the beach and I had to try it. So here was her description. You buy one of those throw away cake pans. ( I got the lasagna kind cuz I planned on a big ol cake). Put down the ice cream sandwiches, plop on cool whip, and squeeze on some caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce. Repeat, ice cream sandwiches, cool whip, sauce, and then crushed health bar over the top, and let it set in the freezer for while.

But here’s what I did, I got the hot fudge, and caramel from the glass. Smucker’s, I’m not a fan of the sauces. I also bought snickers bar, and Twix, and had left over oreo from my oreo brittle. Check it out here: Oreo Brittle

So I unwrapped 12 ice cream sandwiches and arranged them in my huge lasagna pan. I spread the TUB of cool whip over the whole thing, and I used about 3/4 so I am going to have to go back out for another tub. UGH.

I heated up the hot fudge, and didn’t pay attention to it… (of course) and this happened.

Sprinkled on the hot fudge and caramel. Then just when it wasn’t enough added on those oreos for a filling. I put it back in the freezer to set before I did the next layer.

And Repeat: More Ice cream Sandwiches

 

More cool whip, more hot fudge and caramel and THEN topped with Crushed Snickers and Twix Bars. ( I bought the small fun size bars that come in 8 packs).

So overall I was very happy that I chose the caramel and real hot fudge, because it was so tasty. The Twix and snickers were a good choice too. Such a tasty dessert and super easy to make. There are so many variations you can make with this cake, they make Neapolitan bars, mint bars, different kinds of cool whip and a variety if toppings- any candy bar, health-milky way-peppermint patties.

So we only ate some at my nail party, and then I brought it to the family party the next day, and it was A HIT! Everyone loved it.

Success!

 

Snicker Doodles Stuffed with Caramel

How could I resist this fall treat? After seeing this recipe from the domestic rebel I HAD TO try for my party on friday.

Cinnamon Stuffed Cookies

So the recipe calls for

• 1 box white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• About 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• About 24 caramel squares, unwrapped
• Cinnamon Sugar mix to roll cookies in

What also drew me to this recipe was the fact that it used cake mix. Any cookie recipe that uses cake mix I usually love (because its easy) and because it gives the cookies a great consistency. Not many ingredients, even more simple! (cheaper). I bought two dollar packs of caramels from target, and only used one and then half of the other.

So I mixed the ingredients and ended up refrigerating them for the day because I didn’t have time to make them but that usually works out better for cookies anyways!

Oops- I didn’t roll the caramels in cinnamon like recipe calls for, but I am not a cinnamon overload fan so I think that this is okay.  So roll and stuff the caramels in the cookie and then roll the cookie into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Pretty simple. it was so much easier stuffing the cookies than  I thought the dough rolls right over the caramel and gave me no trouble at all!

My cookies did not come out like they did in her picture…mine never do, They rose REALLY high, not sure why. maybe the refrigeration? any ideas? But they taste great, can’t wait to serve them!

Success!!!